Process of baling fibrous material.



No. 755,597. P'ATEN'TED MAR. 22, 1904.

G. A. LOWRY. PROCESS OF BALING FIBROUS MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1898. N0 MODEL.

important to secure such compression without Patented March 22, 1904.

UNITED firn'rns ATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A." Lower, or BOSTON,

PLANTERS COMPRESS COMPANY, A CORPORATION or MAINE.

MASSAGHUSET"S, AssIeNoR 'ro PROCESS 0F BALiNGi FlBROUS MATERIAL.

srncrmcn'rron forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,597, dated March22, 1904. Application filed November 2, 1898. Serial No. 695,286. .110model.)

To all] whom it may conc'erri:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LOWRY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston,in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new and useful Process of Baling Fibrous Material, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the process of baling fibrous material.

- The object of the invention is to ,improve the art of baling fibrousmaterial, whereby the fibrous material may be condensed to a greaterdegree than has been possible heretofore Without injury to the fibersand into a-more con,- venient form. I r

The invention consists, substantially, in the mode of operationhereinafter set forth, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the process of baling fibrousmaterial such as cotton, wool, hair, andthe like, and particularly in the case of cottonit is a matter ofmaterial consequence to secure a high degree of compression of thematerial into bale form in order to economize space in thetransportation. At the same time it is equally injury to the fiber andin a manner that will enable the bale to be readily opened when itarrives at the mills.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a mode ofoperation wherein these desirable objects are secured.

In accordance with the process or method of baling forming the subjectof this invention the loose or uncompressed material is fed or suppliedlittle by little and at each moment in the operation a small quantity iscompressed to substantially the maximum density required upon the massof similar material which has already been compressed in like manner.with this process the material when once compressed is' retained incompressed condition,

being prevented from expanding again after it has. once been subjectedto compression. As aresult of this method there is at any given time amass or column of compressed material which is being substantiallycontinuously augumented by the compression of in- I Furthermore, inaccordance to prevent reexpansion,

crements of loose material against said column of compressed-materialpreviously formed.

This plan of compressing the material a little at a'time tosubstantially the maximum density v or degree of compression desired andpreventing subsequent reexpansion thereof has many advantages over thecommon method of baling, in which a considerable mass of loose materialis subjected to pressure, and thereby condensed to smaller volume, as inmy method a much higher degree of density can. be attained and thecompressed material remains in better condition and will more readilyexpand or open up when it is desired to open the bale so as to supply.the substantially loose or uncompressed condition for manufacture.

In accordance with the present method each increment of loose oruncompressed material when first acted upon is compressed once for allto the degree of densityrequired and then is prevented from expandingagain, said method being thereby sharply-distinguished from othermethods known or suggested in which either a large mass is to becompressed at once or small amounts are supplied or added to andcompressed against a previouslycompressed mass, but are not confined soas so that in the operation of compressing each new portion of loosematerial portions of the material that have i been previously compressedand have subsequently expanded have to be compressed over again.

In compressing the material into bale fornrr in accordance with themethod forming the subject of this invention it is necessary that thecompressed material should be confined so as to prevent it fromexpandingagain after the compression of each successive increment has beenaccomplished.

The practice of the methodinvolves, therefore, a substantiallycontinuous feed or supply of the loose uncompressed material, thecompression of the successive increments thus supplied against thecolumn or mass of material that has been previously supplied andcompressed,jand the confining of the material after compression toretain it in its compressed material in its l condition. These resultsare attained by the maintenance of certain'conditions during theperformance of said acts, as will now be pointed out. One step or act inthe method of baling forming the subject of this invention consists inmaintaining a relative movement between a column or mass of compressedmaterial and a confining surface or' abutment which overlies the end ofthe column of compressed material for-med of increments of loosematerial previously laid and compressed and upon which such incrementsare being compressed at each moment in the regular operation ofpracticing-the method. The surface of the.

compressed material which is thus confined under the-abutment is notcompletely covered, but has a portion exposed, preferably in the form ofa narrow strip or line transverse to the direction of travel of thecompressed material relative to the confining-surface, and

another step or act in the method consists in' supplying or depositingthe loose material a little at atime upon said exposed strip or line or,in other words, substantially continuously feeding the loose materialupon the said exposed surface of the compressed material. The portion ofthe surface of the compressed material which is thus exposed, andconsequently unconfined, is insufficient to admit of substantialexpansion of the material at the part thus exposed. The loose materialat each moment thus deposited on and coming in contact with the exposedsurface of the compressed material is interlaced or frictionally engagedwith said exposed material, so that in the relative movement between thecompressed material and the confining-surface the said loose materialaccompanies the compressedmaterial and is thereby drawn between-it andthe confiningsurface and is thus compressed to substantially the densityof the column of previ- The loose matematerialsubstantially along thegiven line or lines of exposure of the same, and as the said compressedmaterial moves or changes its position relative to the confining-surfacea new line of exposure is presented (2'. a, the line of exposure travelsalong the surface of the compressed mass) and the next increment ofloose material is acted upon and compressed along this new l1ne ofexposure.

The result of continued action as above described is thatthe loosematerial is acted upon and compressed at each moment along a given lineand when compressed is confined, and- .thereby prevented from againexpanding, and thus in the continued operation is formed into a thincompressed sheet or layer upon the end of the previously-compressedcolumn, which is thus made up of aseries or pile of such superimposedcompressed layers.

By giving the mass of compressed material of thin highly-compressed flatlayers, which.

are laid spirally upon one another. In the continued practice oroperation of this method the compressed column is continually built uponor augmented at one end, and thus grows indefinitely in length, saidcolumn being of the sectional shape at right angles to its length thatis desired for the bale, and the bale may be removed or separatedtherefrom when the column has been produced to a sufficient length toprovide for such separation of the bale and to leave, as is preferable,a portion as a basis of compressed material for the reception of furtherloosematerial in carrying on the process' for succeeding bales.

A third act in the operation of forming the bale in accordance with themethod forming the subject of this' invention consists in detaching adefinite length from the compressed column and securing said detachedlength against expansion. Each detached cylindrical mass of the desired,length secured against expansion constitutes a bale. In a column orbale formed in this manner the tendency of the compressed material toexpand is-mainly in the direction of the length of the column, and theopposite end of the column, as well as the'end upon which the loosematerial is being compressed in the practice of the method, as has beenexplained, must be supported and confined against expansion.

The fibers of the material that is at each moment being compressedagainst the previously-compressed mass do not become materiallyinterlocked therewith, as they are principa'lly entangled with fibersimmediately surrounding and before and behind them. This will beapparent upon" reflecting that only a few of the fibers in the amorphousmass ad-- jacent to the slot are actually in contact with or entangledby the moving surface of the top of the column, but that such fibers areentangled with others immediately surrounding them, before, andbehindand that some of the forward fibers with which they are entangledare fibers which have already entered under the abutment, where beingpressed between the abutment'and the top of the column they" v areengaged frictionally and carried onward by the movement of the column.It is thus seen that the later and as yet uncompressed fibers enterthrough the slot, because they are entangled with or hooked to fiberswhich were with th em the instant before in the amorphous mass, andwhile the fibers entering at any given instant are engaged frictionallyand to some extent entangled with theadjacent fibers on the top' of thecolumn which entered in the "last previouslayer they are obviously notso much entangled withthem as they are with the fibers which immediatelysurrounded them in the amorphous mass and are drawn in with them. Hencethe compressed layers which are formed by the successive additions ofloose material remain as distinct layers in the compressed column, whichis readily separated or broken transversely at any point between theadjacent layers. This is an important feature of the invention, for thereason that thereby sampling of the bale may be effected at any pointeven though the material of the bale is compressed to a greatdensityiBecause of this feature also the bale may be readily opened up at themills. Another and very important result flowing out of this method ofoperation, in which succeeding fibers are engaged and drawn forward bypreceding fibers, is that the general tendency is to draw the fibersparallel with one another and lay them in this condition upon thebale-head side by side and close together, avoiding crossing of thefibers and formation of air-spacesyand thus enabling the maximum amountof fibers to be packed in the minimum space and enabling also anapplication of a higher degree of compression than could be applied toany mass of cotton in which the cotton fibers had not this definitestructural arrangement. hen the cotton mass to be baled is an amorphousmass, the application of pressure to the mass of fiber, the fibers beingcrossed in all directions, tends to cause one fiber to cut another fiberwhich it crosses, and consequently the limit of pressure which can beapplied to such an amorphous mass of cotton is that pressure which willnot cause the fibers to cut and damage neighboring fibers. Theparallelism of the fibers, which is a result of the mode of operationwhich I have described above, enables me to apply pressure to such anextent as will fall short of flattening the fiber, while when thefilters are in an amorphous mass, as mentioned above, the pressurecannot be applied beyond the point at whichcrossed fibers would tend tocut one another. A

When the line of exposure of the column to the incoming materialterminates at a short distance from the axis of the column, the balesproduced as above described have an opening or hole longitudinallythrough the center thereof. This is also an important feature, for thereason that the provision of such hole or opening facilitates theapplication of fastenings for securing the b'ale against the tendencytoendwise expansion and also gives ventilation to the bale.

The process above described may be car- 1n the accompanying drawings Ihave disclosed an opried out in many different ways.

erative form of apparatus capable of carrying the invention intopractice.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken View, invertical central section, of an apparatus adapted for. use in carryingthe invention into practical operation. Fig. 2 is a sectional detailview illustratmg the step of compressing the material f into thin sheetsor layers which are applied spirally upon each other to form the columnfrom which the bales are taken. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view in detail,showing a form of cap-plate adapted for use in confining the compressedmaterial and in forming the loose material into thin compressed sheetsor layers and building the compressed column endwise therefrom. Fig. 4.is a broken view in perspective of a bale produced in accordance withing the various steps of the process.

In the particular form of apparatus shown, D designates areceiving-chamber, which in carrying on the process embraces a portionof the compressed column adjacent to the point where it is being builtupon or augmented; E, a cap-plate therefor which affords a confiningsurface or abutment for preventing expansion of the material after it iscompressed, said cap-p1ate and chamber being mounted for relativerotation. The chamber embraces the compressed material, and therebycauses it to have substantially the same movement as the chamberrelative to the cap. The cap-plate E is provided with one or more radialslots or openings F, which afi'ord exposed lines or strips on thesurface at the end of the compressed column. The under edge G of the farlip H of each slot or opening is beveled ofi, thus forming acontracting-throat between the under surface of the cap and the topsurface of the column confined thereunder. The material in aloose fiberto fall upon and be engaged by the exposed strip or strips of thesurface of the compressed mass of material previously operated upon. Theloose material is thus drawn under the edge of the lip H and in betweenthe previously-compressed mass and the abutment, being thus compressed,and by the continued operation successive increments of loose materialare compressed upon thecontinuously-traveling lines of exposure and arethereby formed into a thin compressed sheet or layer. The dragging ofthe loose material into the contracting-throat formed by beveling theunder side (Jr of thelip H causes the air to be expelled from the saidloose material and subjects the same toa high degree of compression. Itwill readily be seen that when the fibers of said loose material aredrawn parallel the air will be more effectively expelled from betweenthem than when they lie across one another forming innumerable aircells.In this condition the material drawn into the chamber is formed into asheet or layer, and by reason of the relative rotation of the cap andchamber (and column of compressed material therein) said shect isapplied in a spiral layer to the end of the column composed of thepreviously-introduced material.

the principles of the invention and illustratform is fed or supplied inposition for the i By interpos'ing suitable resistance to the progressof the. bodyof material through the chamber the desireddegree of endwise.com- 1 pression of the column is secured. This resistance may besecured by contracting the internal diameter of the .chamber or other-.wise, as is evident; With'a plurality .of

bale will be built up end'w'isejof several thin By providing the capslots or openings-F the sheets or bats applied as above described. v

In Fig. 4 the several steps of: the processthereto in spiral layers,

are illustrated, reference-sign B designating but the present'inventiondoes not relate to the'particular construction of apparatus employed,'as m'anyother specifically vdifferent arrangements may be equally welladapted forcarrying the process into practical opera tion. It wil-lalsobe understood that while this process is best carried out by confiningthe lay ers and retaining the compression originally,

imparted to them,as,-hereinbefore described, the process isneverthelessnseful in cases where. the usual compression .issrleasedand,;.afterward reappliedffor the reason that. when the fibers have beenarrangediin paralleh relation compression to ahigher'density'can' always.be more readily effected, whether the thick:,

ness to be compressed is merely a single layer or whether the fibers bearranged inbulk, as by an aggregation of uncompressed layers.

The phrase fultimate density," which has been employed inthis-specification and in some. claims, has reference tothe fact thatthe. layer ext increment is upon its entry as a layer into thebale-forming press eompressedtothe density of thebale of which thereuponit becomes a part, in contradistinction to-those methods of packing .inwhich ultimate density is only attained at a subsequent period.-

The phrase highly compressed refers to that maximum degree ofcompression which a above described, consisting in drawing the it ispossible to give to fiber without breaking down its natural structureforexample,

to a compression just short of that which would flatten or square cottonfiber.

I am aware of the patent to Mead, No. 5,235, dated August 14, 1847, anddisclaim all therein shown. In Mead the surface of the bale is not.under'compressiomso that the fibers of the surface layer are at libertyand free to entangle the fibers in the amorphous mass of loose fiber inthe feed-box, and the extent of surface exposed varies as the balegrows, one-half of the surface of the growing bale in Mead beingexposedtothe amorphous mass I of cotton in the feed-box, withv theresult that Mead will draw a proportionately thick or heavy feed,increasing in amount as the halo grows in size. By my method, however,

' the drawing from the amorphous mass is accomplished by .theconcatenating action of fibers held in 'a compressed mass, so thatcomparatively' few-fibers are free to operate by ccficatenationpandthe-feed is comparatively lightor thin by reason of the fact that thewidth of the slot'bears'a properproportion .to the length of the-stapleofthe fiber, the slot being, preferably, not so wide as the staple islong,- so that fibers are held'at one end at least and are also held byfriction and engagement with adjacent fibers in the compressed mass.Furthermore, in the method which I. have described heretofore only acomparatively small portion of the compressed mass is exposed through aslot or slots, which are fixed in thelr dimension, so that the layer isof substantially uniform thickness and does not vary, as in the Meadbale. This is an important feature in practice.

Having now set forth the object and nature of the invention and themanner of carrying the same into practice, what'I claim as new anduseful and .of my own, invention, and desire to. secure by LettersPatentof the United States, is-- i 1 1. Themethod of packing fibrousmaterial which consists in drawing the fibers by concatenation fromamassof loose fibrous material so that theyare approximately parallel onewith another; highly compressing. the

material" with the fibers thusiarranged into' a thin'sheet of' ultimatedensity, winding that sheet while under compression into the shape of ahelix-about an axis approximately paral: lel to the directionoficompression and finally confining a group of such convolutions, byextraneousbinding means, against expansion.

2.- The method of'packing fibrous material I I O which consists ingenerating by concatenation in a mass ofloose fibrous material, a streamof fibers leadingout therefrom; and expressing the air from; the streamby highly coinpressing-the stream between opposed memj bers and formingthe compressed sheet in helical convolutions about an axis.

3. Themethod of packing fibrous material fibers by concatenation from anamorphous mass into approximate parallelism, andsub-'-, jecting thelayer so formed in thisconditlon to l mass into approximate parallelismand com.-

pressing the fibers when thus arranged to ultimate density and securingthem together against reexpansion.

7. The method of packing fibrous material above described consisting indrawing the fibers by concatenation from an amorphous mass intoapproximate parallelism to form a layer, compressing that layer toultimate density and arranging a niultiplicity of layers so formedtogether to form a bale. I

8. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consisting-indrawing the fibers byconcatenation from an amorphous mass to formahelical layer and arranging a multiplicity of such layers together toforma cylindrical end-built bale.

9. The method of ,packing fibrous material above described, consistingin-drawing the fibers by concatenatlon from an amorphous mass intoapproximate parallelism to form a helical layer, arranging amultiplicity of such layers together to form a cylindrical end-builtbale, subjecting the layers to pressure to give density and securingthem together against reexpansion. 7

10. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing the fibers by concatenation from an amorphous mass to form alayer; subjecting such layer so formed to high compression and securingtogether a multiplicity of such layers.

11. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing the fibers by concatenation from an amorphous mass andsubjecting the fibers so drawn to high compression and securing thecompressed fibers against reexpansion. a

12. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing fibers from an amorphous mass of oose material by theconcatenating action of fibers embedded in a a compressed mass, andcompressing the fibers so drawn.

13. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing fibers in a layer of substantially uniform thickness 7,

apompressed mass, and compressing the fibers so drawn. j

14:. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing fibersv in a helicallayerof substantially uniform thicknessfrom an amorphous mass of loose material by the concatenating actionoffi'mrs ingthe fibers so drawn.

15. The methbd of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing fibers in a helical layer of substantially uniform thicknessfrom an amorphous mass of loose embedded in a compressed mass, andcompressmaterial by the concate'nating action of fibers embedded in acompressed mass and compressing said layer against the compressed mass.16. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingin drawing fibers from an amorphous mass of loose material intoapproximate parallelism by the concatenating action of fibers embeddedin a compressed mass, and compressing the fibers so drawn.

17. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingindrawing fibers in a layer of substantially uniform thickness from anamorphous mass .of loose material into approximate parallelism bytheconcatenating action of fibers embedded in a compressed mass, andcompressing the fibers so drawn. r

18. The method of packing fibrous material above described, consistingof drawing fibers in a helical layer of substantially uniform thicknessfrom an amorphous mass of loose material into approximate parallelism bythe concatenating action of fibers embedded in a compressed mass andarranging a multiplicity of such layers together to form a cylindricalend-built baleand securing them together against reexpansion 19. Themethod of packing fibrous material above described, consisting indrawing fibers in a. helical layer of substantially uniform thicknessfrom an amorphous mass of loose materialinto approximate parallelismbythe concatenating action 9f fibers embeddedin hand,this 22d day ofOctober, 1898, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

v enonon A. LO RYQ Witnesses:

, F. A; BURKE,

Cine. 1. TAMSBERG.

